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OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- A complicated merger plan involving a pair of animal shelters, a wildlife center and a reptile rescue operation could have birds of prey and slithering snakes living under the same Ogden roof later this year.
Ogden officials plan to merge the Carol Conroy Browning-Ogden Animal Shelter with an expanded Weber County Shelter next fall.
City leaders then hope to lease the Browning shelter to two rescue agencies -- The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah and Reptile Rescue Inc. -- for a nominal fee, the city's chief administrative officer John Patterson said.
The shelter could become the wildlife center's permanent home. The nonprofit center, which cares for sick, injured or orphaned native birds, has been in temporary quarters since a budget crisis last year.
Wildlife center director DaLyn Erickson says the shelter is a perfect fit for the center's needs and will let the city put a vacant facility to good use.
"It will show that Ogden supports environmental concerns," she said.
In 2009, the center helped about 1,300 birds, returning about 65 percent of the animals back into the wild. Currently there are 60 birds at the center, including golden eagles, falcons and great horned owls.
Jim Dix, owner of the West Valley City-based Reptile Rescue said he's in preliminary talks with the city and may place his snakes at the shelter.
Dix currently runs the rescue agency from his home and keeps about 200 snakes and 75 turtles. He nurses the reptiles to health and uses them to train animal control officers and for educational purposes.
Having birds and snakes under one roof may seem like an unusual pairing, but Patterson says they could safely coexist in the Browning shelter. The creatures would be caged and separated in the building by a hallway and doors, he said.
"Some birds may be looking for dinner across one way (at the snakes) and some reptiles may be looking for dinner across the other way (at the birds)," Patterson joked.
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Information from: Standard-Examiner
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
